-The c-suite dynamics were riddled with unnecessary drama that would trickle down and negatively impact the rest of the organization. Actions were incredibly childish, such as leadership removing each other from email threads and bashing each other’s teams.
-Reorgs and layoffs were frequent. Created a ton instability and uncertainty across teams, and made it hard to get anything done when priorities were suddenly shifted with no clarity provided.
-Leadership provided little to no support and would not advocate for any resources or help bridge the gap between other functions. Subsequently, many projects would look slapped together and unpolished.
-Collaboration between teams was virtually nonexistent. For instance, multiple teams (such as LCM, PMMs, Brand, Content, and Comms) would work on similar initiatives independently, and would go out of their way to not align efforts or support each other. This siloed, competitive culture led to redundant work.
-Executing ideas that required cross-functional support—especially from engineering or tech ops—was nearly impossible. Even with comprehensive pitches *and* buy-in from business leads, other teams would not put your projects on their roadmaps.
-The company was extremely stingy with raises. Even employees who consistently exceeded expectations were capped at a 3% annual raise, with no flexibility for managers to advocate for more.
-During our team skip-level meeting, the CMO yawned three times, which was so dismissive and unprofessional. Later, in a marketing stand-up, she announced that our team’s meeting was the best one she attended. This felt inappropriate and unprofessional to share with the entire marketing org — plus I can only imagine how disengaged she must have been during her meetings with other teams.
-My boss frequently spoke negatively about both current and former team members, creating a toxic atmosphere. Following the most recent reorg, she did not provide any clarity or priorities for her direct reports, instructed us to "sit tight" and "give her patience and grace”. Then she acted cowardly, becoming unresponsive to message and refusing to meet with us. To make matters worse, she undermined her team by sharing critical comments with her new boss about the work we had done (work she had laid out for us to do), seemingly to shift blame and protect herself.
-After setting the stage with these actions, my boss laid off her direct reports. The company offered all of us identical severance packages, regardless of our seniority or contributions. In what world does a Sr employee with 5 years tenure, a Jr employee with 2 years tenure, and a part-time employee receive the same severance package? When we raised concerns, HR *acknowledged* that this approach fell short of industry best practices but refused to negotiate, at one point even sending the employment lawyer after us in an attempt to scare us off.
-The company fostered a visible divide between executives and other employees. For example, breakfast and lunch would be provided exclusively for executives and set up in shared spaces with signage explicitly stating that other employees were not permitted to partake—an ironic contrast to the company’s own stated values about inclusivity and team-building. (The company values pamphlet/propaganda thing literally says to invite people to lunch lol.)
